Blackmagic Cinema Camera Review Part 1: Initial Thoughts

It exists, and I know this, having actually shot with it thanks to Rule Boston Camera. It's impossible to truly know a camera until you've actually handled it, and that also goes for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Footage online can only tell you so much, but when it really comes down to it, being able to put the thing in your hands can tell you a lot about usability that you might not get from reading about it online. I was also part of a full presentation that I will be posting soon, but for now, here are some of my initial observations about the camera.

I've written thousands of words about this camera, probably more than most who regularly write about cameras. I don't want to get into too much detail here, because I'm going to be talking much more about it over the coming days, but there is no question this camera is a work in progress that delivers breathtaking imagery. This was a recent video commissioned by Blackmagic, far nicer than anything I was able to come up with in my short time with the camera:

There are a few points that I wanted to get out there before I really go more in-depth:

Film Camera

The current firmware isn't quite there yet. The latest version did add image stabilization -- which I must say can make a huge difference -- but other than that, we've got a few updates to go before people have all the things they've come to expect on their other cameras. To me, in its current form, it's a bit like shooting with a film camera, except you've got playback and you can easily see what you're doing (not to mention the other advantages of digital). I say this because there is no real way to deal with your footage in the camera. You can play back clips, but there is no clip menu of any kind, and you can't delete clips or format the card in the camera. This does prevent you from messing up any footage on set, but it's a huge pain if you're trying to shoot RAW and you know you don't need a specific clip and would like to save space.

I have no doubt we'll see some way to deal with clips or with formatting sometime in the future, but for right now, it's a bit limiting. You'll have to make sure that you've formatted the cards on a computer before you shoot, and once you're on set, unless you can offload somewhere, you had better make sure you've got enough cards, because you can't see how much footage you've shot. You could theoretically use the timecode to figure that out, but right now, the camera doesn't give you any way to know whether you've got 20 minutes left in RAW or an hour left in ProRes or DNxHD.

Rig or No Rig?

This camera is a lot heavier than you think, not because of the actual weight, but because of the way it is balanced and the ways that you can actually hold it in your hands. You can handhold the camera with just your hands and no rig, but it's a bit more difficult than a DSLR. The trick that I use with DSLRs and the camera strap doesn't really work with this camera, mostly because of its shape. Since it is tapered from the top to the bottom, it makes it more difficult to just hold in your hands.

I might not have the biggest hands in the world, but I know that plenty of people are going to have trouble trying to hold the camera because of the awkward shape. Keep in mind though, this is when you're also trying to focus with the other hand. If your shot is set and focus doesn't need to be adjusted, it's not as bad, but again, since there is no handgrip, there is no comfortable way to hold it with one hand and focus with the other, and my fingers weren't long enough to hold the camera with my thumbs and focus with my ring or middle fingers (which I can do rather easily on a DSLR). Basically this means that some sort of rig will be helpful. Since the camera is heavy it actually doesn't have to be a complicated rig with all sorts of counterweights, and you can definitely get away with a cheap baseplate and some rods to brace against your body or on your shoulder. At the very least some sort of handle will be helpful, whether that's the Blackmagic handle or some other third party solution.

Touchscreen Monitor

It's a bit difficult to see in bright daylight because it is a reflective touchscreen. There isn't much you can do about this, but the biggest problem you will have is seeing your own reflection and everything behind you (similar to the Mac computer you might be using right now). The sun hood does help a bit, but it won't be able to get rid of the reflections, which is the main issue. In practice this wasn't that big of a deal, and it's actually something I deal with on my SmallHD monitor which has a protective plastic piece over the LCD. I can still use that LCD in daylight without too much issue, so it's probably going to come down to personal usage and how much it bothers you.

As far as being able to focus with the monitor, it's good enough. While you might have some issues when your depth of field is very shallow, I was able to focus just fine. Your monitor will make you think your footage is terrible and full of aliasing and moire. That's about my only issue with it. When I was shooting without an external monitor, I was never sure what looked good and what didn't, but when I got back to take a look at it, everything was perfect, without any of the issues I had seen on the back LCD. Do you need another viewing source in addition to the back LCD? Not necessarily, but for narrative work, it's probably going to make your life and that of your focus puller that much easier and less stressful.

It's $3,000

Let's keep this in mind once more before everyone loses it in the comments section. Take a look at what else is in this price range. Sure, you're going to have to spend a little more money to get this camera going, but even with that extra money, you're still going to be well below anything in this price range in terms of overall image fidelity. You've got the Canon 5D Mark III and the Nikon D800 at the same price, and the Sony FS100, Canon C100, and Canon 1D X are a bit more expensive -- and all of those prices are before any other accessories. This camera can't do everything. It's a cinema camera by nature, so it's not intended to be an 'uncontrolled environment' documentary camera. You've got to plan shots that have some sort of light source, because it can't see in the dark without a bit of noise.

The Blackmagic Cinema Camera gives you 12-bit RAW and 10-bit log compressed codecs, DaVinci Resolve, UltraScope, and Media Express, in a body not much bigger than a DSLR, with non-proprietary media, all for $3,000. Under $10,000 for large sensors you're looking at 8-bit 4:2:2 maximum. Many will question why they need all of that. Frankly, if you don't think you need all of those features or you don't think those features will benefit your videos in any way, you probably shouldn't buy one.

This is really designed to be a step up from DSLRs, not a camera for people who already have the money to spend $20,000 on a RED package. It's a junior cinema camera in that you're not getting ND filters or some of the other features you might get with Sony's new F5/F55 or the even more expensive Arri Alexa or Sony F65. You're getting a box, with a sensor, and some very nice recording formats. If you want cheap, you have to compromise, and personally I'm glad they didn't compromise on image quality. If you can't get around the usability issues, that's perfectly understandable, but anything else that would make this camera better hardware-wise would make it that much more expensive. I don't think this camera is all that appealing at $6,000-$10,000, but for $3,000, it's an absolute steal to get footage that has just about as much resolution at 1080 and nearly as much dynamic range as cameras costing 10-20 times as much.

I'll have a bit more in the coming days, and I will also be posting the full presentation that I was involved with at Rule.

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80 Comments

Thank you for the review! I'm still not sure if I'm interested in this or the Digital Bolex camera, so this will be most helpful. Will you be doing similar coverage for that camera when it becomes available?

"the image out of this camera blows the red scarlet away"
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH
This website is too funny. Defending a camera that doesn't even exist and all, based solely off of poorly composed, lit, and graded YouTube or VImeo videos

People saying that BMCC blows away a raw camera like scarlet should consider if they have the experience or knowledge to actually take good images from it... I mean, scarlet is native 800asa 4k camera with 13 stops of DR with a tested raw format with nice compression modes and an excellent color science (redcolor3).

I don't know but you can do so much with raw that I think is more a matter of lighting correctly the scene and understand the principles behind color correction and grading... And then use it wisely.

BMCC will, probably, blow anything away: REDs, Alexas, F65, if the ones responsible won't know what to do with those cameras on set and in post... And they normally know considering the professional environment those cameras are often found...

I feel this camera is aimed directly at me. As a 5D Mark II owner I've shot mostly stuff for my company, friends and little mini-docs for non-profits. But I've wanted to do more narrative work and up my game. A $20,000 outfitted Scarlet is out of reach, but a $5,000 BMCC with an inexpensive rig is perfect. I can live with the small sensor for a picture that holds up in a color grade.

Looking forward to hearing news from Black Magic today on their shipping issues.

One big issues is the fact that all my lenses will throw way further with the smaller sensor. So you better factor in a very short focal length lens into that budget if you plan on shooting any medium wide shots with the BMDCC.

Before people get upset about its low light performance, remember this. The fastest general purpose 35mm Motion picture Film stock is 500 ASA.

The BMCC is about ISO400. The simple fact that they match in sensitivity, to my eye made this feel way more filmic to me. People forget that night time is well.... Dark. The outdoor stuff to me looked great because it felt like night. Not the bizzare CG looking ultra sensitive camera yellow Vapor light piss storm, that seems to be filling up the web. The BMC looked natural, and realistic. I quite liked it.

I shot with one recently. Ergonomic nightmare from hell. Beautiful picture. For $3,000 you cant complain.

Well, of course it will be more sensitive at ISO 800, but we're talking (supposedly...) about these cameras' *native* ISO ratings. The Red One with the Mysterium sensor has a native sensitivity of ISO 320, while the BMCC has a native sensitivity of ISO 800. Since both cameras shoot types of raw footage, all video is recorded at those native sensitivities (with the exception of the BMCC's ProRes/DNxHD option).

Any reviews coming up for Panasonic's Gh3? Is it still viable in the Indie film community as a contender. Personally all of the videos I've seen haven't impressed even the short Philip bloom had a helping hand seemed to be lacking it didn't have that wow factor.

Yes and yes. 8 bit uncompressed 4:2:2 for both. But in a log gamma you don't need more than 8 bits to represent the 12 available stops adequately. The extra bits would just be noise or unused headroom. More bits are better only if sensor DR is also better to make use of those bits.

Would the nikon D800 be better bang for the buck compared to the C100?
D800 @ $3000 + Atomos Ninja2 @ $1000 for $4000, seems better than a C100 at $6700 and then a Ninja.
You wont get the low light performance but you don't really need it for narrative work.

The D800 is a line-skipping full frame camera and will have aliasing and moire. The C100 is a proper downsampling S35 camera that has virtually no aliasing or moire. If you are doing purely narrative movies, don't need low-light and want a low price the BMCC is a better choice IMO than the D800. The C100 is a better all-around owner-operator camera than both of those by far. The C100 is IMO the cheapest large sensor camera that qualifies as "pro" in build, ergonomics, feature set etc. and the only catches are that it needs an external recorder and can't do slomo.

But the low-light is as good as any in the entire business and when you have to buy a generator or hire a proper electrician for your shoot the price differential is going to become meaningless very quickly. Low light performance is a win in all genres/applications, the idea that narrative can just snap its fingers and have a fleet of maxi brutes at the ready is not reality at the indie level. With the C100 you can do night scenes with LED panels or available street lights and get something usable with or even without NR in post.

Also the fact the C100 is great for run'n'gun does not mean it must suck for narrative. It is IMO as good objectively as any camera right now at 1080p24 when coupled with the Ninja and cinelocked. Subjectively is up to you.

There is a $300 filter that takes out the moire perfectly. Ask any serious D800 shooter.

But in the $60k worth of work its shot for me since April, I haven't even used that. In 80% of the cases, we recorded internally. We also cut it in with Alexa and C300 quite nicely.
IMO The C100 (and C300) doesn't look anywhere near as 'filmic' out of the box as the D800 (or 1dx).

If you are selling yourself as a lighting cameraman, any DSLR is not really the way to go.

If you want to make dramas or your own docs, then sure, a D800 with the Ninja grades up beautifully, even without the filter.

I can't argue that the D800 has the ease of use that you'll find in a C camera, or FS camera. I think the C100 is a terrific little camera, and its already cannabalising the C300 market (I think both cams are over-priced).

But I've won picture quality battles against almost every major digital camera out there for sharpness and DR. Its my A camera on music video, and I shot 40% of a major ESPN doc on it just last month, most of that at night.

You would also own one of the greatest stills cameras ever made if that's of any use to you.

One more thing - if you are shooting your own projects, you can buy a 7D new at Costco for $1300. Put the rest of your money into lenses, lights, and shooting your first big project. In a year, there will be be full-frame 4K around under 10k. In 2 years, under $5k. Get the camera you can use today. Invest in glass, and your own talent.

I own a Scarlet and think I'm better off with it mainly becuase of the great raw workflow with RED.
BUT - this cam is $3K!
It's the first affordable camera that's really able to 'do cinema'. Hail Black Magic!!

"Ok good news everyone as the test run of sensors have just been built into cameras and they look good. Very good. So we have just given the sensor supplier the go ahead to commence volume production of the sensors and we hope to start getting them within the next week to start building cameras. How many cameras? I am not sure, as we have all stopped production and so we all need to restart production and see how many they can produce. However we will be working hard to build as many cameras as possible over the next few weeks.

I hope people start to see more cameras shipping, but it might be a good idea if I post another update early January to update everyone on how production is progressing.

As for the micro four thirds model, it's ready to go, however the problem is I feel until we are shipping a whole bunch of EF model cameras, there is little point building any of the MFT model. So we will ship as many as we can and then perhaps see where we are mid Jan and do a few MFT models then.

It is sure a relief seeing this problem coming to a close. I cannot believe this happened and it's been an incredibly frustrating delay. However I am feeling really positive now."

My speculation is they do have more EF preorders than passive MFT ones, but what he is really doing is buying time to see where _active_ MFT development has reached in a few weeks. If active is far enough along, they will just bail on the passive model altogether and ship active ones sometime in 2013 to those customers. No one's going to want a passive MFT mount when an active one is available.

I wonder if BM is actually working on an active MFT. Perhaps it's better to wait until NAB season. I don't like buying expensive gear if it becomes obsolete soonafter. Conversely if Mr. Petty denies, cannot confirm, or doesn't say anything about active development, then the passive model would be OK, in my bookkeeping, and be valid for a year or so before being superseded.

I simply dislike products that go to landfill early....accordingly, I don't have any Apple mobile devices.

I had a talk with a guy from Blackmagic two weeks ago (in a BMCC presentation here in Portugal) and he told me that about 90% of the pre-orders were EF mount so they want to deal with those first before they start shipping the MFT mount. I was a bit annoyed by that since I personally think MFT is the way to go with this sensor size since you can pretty much throw any lens (even PL) in there (with adapters, of course...)

On a side note, I find it funny that so many people associate the "film look" with DOF (and since they diss this camera right away for not being able to reproduce the shallow DOF of a, let's say, 5D). To me the so called "film look" has much more to do with lighting, framing, lens choice and dynamic range (being dynamic range the only thing that actually depends on the camera you use).

Crazy shallow DOF has got to be the most overused gimmick (along with glidetrack shots) that I see nowadays. When used correctly (and with a purpose) it's beautiful but when I see people shooting interviews on a 5D with a 50mm at f1.4... with blown away blurry highlights in the BG... man, that's just plain ugly and distracting!

The BMCC kind of reminds me of shooting with 16mm, and I got to say that I love it and can't wait to get mine!

P.S. - I own a couple of 5D's, a T2i, GoPros, A GH2 and I absolutely love all of them... You just have to know how and when to use each!

Although camera's are just a means to an end, this thing's a gift from the manufacturing gods, just as the mkII was in 08' or whenever it came out.
An opportunity to really rub shoulders( at least in terms of image quality) with industry professionals or those of us that are fortunate enough to afford a higher system/camera workflow. It's an unbelievably exciting and democratizing time to be doing what we're doing and, it's unfortunate that people try to soil this excitement for others. As "limited" as this camera may be( again, considering it's astounding price point) I think it can only make better filmmakers of those who will be using it. I'm sure many of you are Kubrick fans and like he said, "Everything can be boiled down into simple problem-solving".

Also, that film made me very homesick and b) is the most convincing footage I've seen. You can definitely tell that not unlike the EF REDs its the lenses that are limiting it, not the sensor.
The commentator above who praised that it looks properly 'dark' is bang on - enough with that artificial look a lot of high iso cams have these days.

Ugh do I ever so agree. I couldn't listen to more than 2 minutes of that hangdog. Making presentations is just not his forte.

But I was very happy to see Joe in action for the first time, he has a delightful personality and is very bright. Which I could see through the text I suppose and is evident in the popularity of his posts. I could see him ending up in the marketing dept. of a cinema camera firm as a presenter.

It's an interesting question both philosophically and practically. Can you combine monochrome and color footage with good results? Certainly there are plenty of good examples, but done with an artistic purpose. Intercutting them randomly wouldn't work.

It's much the same I think with such different cameras...Philip Bloom tried it with his doc on the South African tower, using the 5D3 for the timelapse sequence, and the rich Canon color just leaped out from all the dingy green BMCC footage. It's possible to reduce that color difference a bit with enough massage in post, but to intercut a scene with the two cameras randomly is going to reveal how different full frame looks, how different the codec looks, the downsampling method...these are very different cameras and looks. Not quite as jarring as monochrome vs. color but still.

The rationale would be to cover low light, shallow DOF and wide angle with the 5D3 and hi-res hi-DR tele with the BMCC, but sometimes those are at cross purposes, you'll want more res on a wide shot rather than less, and will want to do portrait type shots on FF rather than 2.3x crop. Neither camera helps you with slo-mo, both require extensive rigging and preamps or dual system audio, you will want an external recorder for the 5D3 when clean HDMI ships.

Sorry to be the broken record, but for the price of the pair, you can get a C100 + Ninja which loses you the great 5D3 stills but wins you just about all the advantages of both and much more in one consistent stream of footage without hassle. This was the evolution of my thinking about this exact decision and I'm happy I chose the C100.

I hadn't considered the ergonomics of the camera. Clearly I was enticed by the technical capability of the BMCC, but if run-and-gunning it, it's oblong shape could cause problems. Is there any textured siding or coating to it, or is it smooth?

It's a great cam the 5d3, although the 1dx is my current Canon crush.. I can tell you that the BMC is showing up here in LA quite readily now. I've held two of them in the last week. They are much heavier than you expect.

Does anyone know the technical aspect to instituting a full frame sensor in this camera? Would it make the final product uncompetitive costwise or is it simply out of reach, technologically speaking, for now? Even if it upped the price to $7,000, I'd probably go with it.

Really interested in this camera and its potential - can't wait to see what it can really do on a controlled shoot.

However - more than slightly concerned about all the technical hitches and also wonder why they're lending it out to people to do uninspiring shoots like this (and others) instead of getting someone in to really put it through its paces and do a properly lit short drama. Considering it's being marketed as a 'cinema camera' it's a shame they commissioned another flashy semi-documentary with lots of slider shots...

Yes and no as our videos will point out. Yes for price no as far as camera control. Granted version 1x in hardware rom. This is nothing more than a DSLR RAW Base Camera with very limited control of picture. If Nikon of Canon would wake up and change to an SSD cartridge for bandwidth they will rule due to the control they already have built into their hardware. BMD was very smart to exploit this hole that Canon and Nikon had and beating them by them being constrained into a mpeg delivery format by using the sdhc media they choose. http://www.youtube.com/AValive

Joe, or anyone else who knows: Please verify this for me. The only output connection on the BMCC is Thunderbolt, correct? Therefore, currently only a Mac computer is compatible with the BMCC. My next question is, the SSD that the media is written to. Are there external SSD drives that a PC user could plug in to and dump the media? If no, then I can conclude that the BMCC is developed for 'current' Mac only users. I say current because I do know there are PC's being developed that will have Thunderbolt connections, just not mainstream PC's. Thanks everyone.

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